August 15th, 2012 
I’m sure you’ve all seen those mouth-watering pictures of salads at restaurants. What you don’t see in the pictures are the nutrition facts telling you the salad dressings that make the salads so delicious are packed with saturated fats, sodium and cholesterol.
I love Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger’s Quinoa Salad because it has not only the health benefits of vegetables, but also of quinoa. As a whole grain, quinoa is filling enough that a quinoa salad can be your main meal. And not only is it a good source of fiber, but of all the whole grains out there, quinoa has the highest protein content, providing all 9 essential amino acids. It’s also gluten-free and cholesterol-free.
Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger’s Quinoa Salad
6-8 Servings
Ingredients
(Photo Credit: Linda Yao)
- 12 cups water
- 1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed
- 5 pickling cucumbers, peeled, ends trimmed, and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
- 1 small red onion, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
- 1 large tomato, cored, seeded, and diced
- 1 bunch Italian parsley leaves, chopped
- 2 bunches mint leaves, chopped
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 heads endive, trimmed and separated into individual spears
- 1 avocado, peeled, seeded and diced, for garnish
Directions
Bring the water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the quinoa, stir once, and return to a boil. Cook uncovered, over medium heat for 12 minutes. Strain and rinse well with cold water, shaking the sieve well to remove all moisture.
When dry, transfer the quinoa to a large bowl. Add the cucumbers, onion, tomato, parsley, mint, olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and toss well. Spoon onto endive spears, top with avocado, and serve.
Note: I skipped the last step to save time, and it still looked and tasted great!
